The First Avatar
by Xx-TeNshI-xX93
Summary: All stories have their beginnings, this is the story of the avatars. lame summary but good story :D
1. All Stories Must Begin Somewhere

Water, fire, earth, and air, these are the four elements our world is balanced by. Before benders people did not have one single home we were all travelers moving from place to place. Then slowly it began to change, a few had learned the secrets of, chakra, and energy and were able to control an element that they learned from nature. Waterbenders learned from the moon, earthbenders from the badgermoles, firebenders from the dragons, and airbenders learned from the sky bison. As benders appeared the world began to divide itself between those who bend one element compared to those who bend another. Firebenders created the Fire Nation, earthbenders created the Earth Kingdom, waterbenders secluded themselves to the north and south poles, and the airbenders chose to wander becoming the air nomads. The non-benders followed those that could bend in hopes of protection.

My name is Hui-ying and my twin brother's name is Li-liang. We live in the southeastern corner of the Earth Kingdom by the sea. Our dream is to become benders and make our family super rich so that we can move to the capital. Our teacher is Ling, he moved here supposedly to escape the capital. He is supposed to teach us earthbending but so far Li-liang is the only one who has been able to move some stupid rocks.

"Li-liang"

"…"

"LI-LIANG!"

"I'm concentrating!"

"but I'm bored~!" Hui-ying huffed her cheeks puffing out, ready to throw one of her little tantrums as she usually did when her brother wouldn't play with her.

Their teacher, Ling, wrapped Hui-ying playfully with a scroll behind her head. Ling was an old man with white hair that stuck out every which way and a droopy face but one that was constantly smiling. Of course he was well built, almost all earthbenders are. "Shouldn't you be studying as well, your parents entrusted you to me and I don't want to let them down".

Hui-ying rubbed the back of her head and stuck her tongue out at him, "I can't do it!"

"Hmmm," ling rubbed his chin and looked out at the trees at the other end of the quarry they were practicing in, "perhaps you simply cannot bend at all?" he said. Hui-ying glared at him

"I can!" she exclaimed, she tied her mid-length brown hair back and focused her black-ish gray eyes at a pebble on the ground. Got into the position and grunted loudly as she thrust her hands into the air willing the rock to move. The pebble just stared at her mocking her until she just kicked over to the side of the quarry. "maybe I'm not an earthbender," she said smacking Li-liang in the back of the head for rolling his eyes, "I can feel it". A wind picked up, Hui-ying closed her eyes and let it push her spinning and moving with the flow. "teach me airbending!" she cried out at Ling, "I know I could do that".

Ling shook his head, "just because I know how to bend earth doesn't mean I can teach you how to bend any of the other elements. There isn't a single record of anyone being able to bend more than one element."

"I will" Li-liang said quietly, "that's how I will make my name out in the real world, everyone else can only bend one element but I will be able to bend four"

"Not if I learn all four first" Hui-ying said confidently.

"you can't even earthbend yet" Li-liang challenged.

Ling chuckled, "well I wish the both of you luck in your quest, why don't we take a break, I think its about lunchtime."

Li-liang rolled his eyes, "we always have to take breaks because you want to eat, and I have to learn quickly". Ling only laughed and started walking back home and the twins soon followed after him Hui-ying going on about a butterfly she had just seen and Li-liang in the shadows going over what they'd just learned. Ling stopped abruptly causing Li-liang to run into him.

"wha-?"

Ahead of them a group of soldiers were marching through the town, the townspeople were simply watching in awe.

"Who?" Hui-ying asked looking up at her master.

"So the rumors are true", he merely muttered staring straight ahead. It frightened Hui-ying never before had she seen such a scary expression on his face before, Ling was always smiling.

"you two go home" Ling finally said to them and smiled forcedly, "don't worry, no matter what happens you'll be fine"

Hui-Ying sat on the bed she shared with her brother. Li-liang was practicing the motions of earthbending going them one by one and then repeating the processs.

"Li-liang…"

"…"

"LI-liang."

"What" he finally paused from his practice.

"What is happening?" she asked him looking into his reddish-brown eyes. The one notable difference between the twins was their eyes. People said that hers always calmed them but something about Li-liang always seemed to rub them the wrong way.

Li-liang rolled his eyes at her as he usually did when he thought she'd said something stupid, "The Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom have been going through some territorial disputes, we are right on the border that's why they are coming through here." He paused for a moment staring at a particular stain in the wall then finally turned back to her, "we may go to war."

Hui-ying pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them.

"Father and mother want Master Ling to take us with him to the capital but he refused saying the best place for us was not there but with the air nomads because they are the most peaceful" Li-liang continued.

"I don't want to leave" Hui-ying muttered.

Li-liang shrugged, "I don't care, I just don't want to go live with the air nomads."

"Where do you plan to go then" she asked him.

"The Fire Nation, if it's during war time they will be trying to create as many firebenders as possible, right" he smiled, "that will be my chance to learn firebending".

"I'll go with you then-" she said looking him in the eye hopefully.

"No way," he said returning to his practice, "You're too weak you'd be useless".

Hui-ying threw a pillow at him and laid down and turned away from him pretending to go to sleep but only really falling asleep when he had finally laid down beside her. "You wouldn't leave me alone, would you?" she asked him.

They lay there silent for a while and then he finally responded, "no, I wouldn't."

"you promise"

"I promise."

Hui-Ying hugged her mother tightly, they had been the last people left in the village. She and her brother were now thirteen. The war between the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation later to be known as the Great Earth-Fire war had begun. Hui-ying was finally going to live with the air nomads, her brother had snuck out the night before. She knew where to but decided to keep it hidden from her parents, she did not want them to worry over something that cannot be undone. Her father being drafted had already taken a toll on her mother, so she just told her that perhaps Li-liang had gone to the capital to work and her mother had made a face that said 'oh, how Li-liang of him'.

"I hope you see Li-liang in the capital," Hui-ying said to her after finally ending the hug. Her mother nodded back at her.

Ling chuckled, "Perhaps now you will finally learning airbending". Ling had not been drafted because he had become too old for combat so instead he was accompanying Hui-ying's mother to the capital.

Hui-ying gave him look that said of course and finally waved her last goodbye knowing that if she said anymore she might cry so she ran off to where her escort and his sky bison awaited her.

"are you ready to go Hui-ying?" he asked, the boy looked to be about her age with a blue arrow that ended at his forehead and crawled back under his clothes.

Hui-ying nodded climbing on, "I forgot to ask ", what's your name?"

"Changming" he answered smiling, "we are off to the newly built Southern air temple! Yip yip!"

Hui-ying cried out ecstatically as the bison jumped into the sky her bangs whipping around her face.

"Hey!" she called out to Changming who turned his head to meet her, "you're a master airbender, aren't you?"

Changming beamed at her, "yup, maybe I could show you a few things", he said his cheeks just turning a little bit rosier.

"Really!" Hui-ying exclaimed, "do you think you could teach me". All the claims Hui-ying made about being an airbender had not been completely unfounded. Sometimes she would close her eyes, empty her mind, and just feel the movement of life around her, occasionally altering the flow of the wind ever so slightly, or rustling the leaves of a tree when there had been no wind.

"you think you might be an airbender?" Changming asked.

"Think ," she cried out, "I know am!"

"Really?" Changming asked, "cause that would be **so** cool! There aren't very many airbenders my age at the southern air temple because it's brand new, only a few masters moved down there."

"We'll have so much fun!" Hui-Ying threw her hands in the hand the air, happy that the conversation had given her a distraction from her current problems. But, her mind quickly came back to her mother and then to Li-liang. Changming noticed the change in mood, remembering why she had to come live with the air nomads in the first place and attempted to give her a comforting smile.


	2. I'm Coming Home

It had been two years since Hui-ying had last seen her mother. She had written to her every single day and now they were finally to be reunited. The war had ended, it had ended relatively quickly but not without casualties. It was the first war involving benders and the death rate had been devastating, those without any bender powers had no way to fight back they've never had to deal with these kinds of attacks before. During the war neither Hui-ying nor her mother had heard from Li-liang. Not a single trace of him had appeared in the capital, just as Hui-ying assumed her brother had left the country.

Chang Ming had taught Hui-ying everything he knew about airbending and soon she had become an airbending master. She could remember the day they had to shave her beautiful long brown silky hair to tattoo the blue arrows on her body. She had been upset but her hair had now already begun to grow back and maybe it was because she'd gone so long without it but it looked even more beautiful than before to her.

"Hui-Ying, you ready to go? Chang Ming asked smiling as he usually did but when he turned around he noticed Hui-Ying was not happy she had a huge grimace on her face. "What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"It's not fair" she mumbled, "It's not fair!" she said again this time yelling it out in frustration.

Chang Ming understood right away what Hui-ying was talking about. The war had frightened all the sky bison to the northern and eastern air temples. The only sky bison left were the ones that had already bonded with their airbender and only remained in the temple because there companions were there. "Someday," was all he could manage to say to comfort her.

"easy for you to say, you've got Sorano", Hui-ying muttered, "you get to fly together as much as you want", she threw her hands up in the air and wiggled them while she said this.

"I know, I know," Chang Ming stayed silent for a moment and finally said, you haven't found your brother yet, have you?"

Hui-ying's face went from her playful grimace to an expression of solemnity which was all the answer Chang Ming needed. He beamed at her, "then we can accomplish all three things in one go!"

Hui-ying cocked her head to the side, "three?"

"First!" he exclaimed, "We'll go to see your mother and tell her that we are going on a journey to find your brother and we'll send lots of letters so she won't have to worry!"

Hui-ying nodded her head for him to continue.

"Then as one of our pit stops we'll got to the northern or eastern air temple and we'll find you a sky bison!"

Hui-ying was smiling now, "and the third thing?" she asked.

Chang Ming jumped off of Sorano and floated cross-legged in front of Hui-ying, "you wanted to master all four elements before your brother, right? Well, I have an idea. Humans learned how to control the elements from nature. So we should look to nature as our guide on to be able to master all four elements."

"Continue" Hui-ying said her eyes shining.

"If we were to align the four elements with the seasons, water would be winter, earth is spring, fire is summer, and air would be fall. You should follow the cycle of the elements and the seasons. You've already learned air so the next logical step would be water."

"Oh Chang Ming you're a genius!" Hui-ying cooed.

"Well, you know" Chang Ming mumble blushing.

Hui-Ying jumped and propelled herself with a blast of air onto Sorano's back. She was quickly followed by Chang Ming who landed in front of her and called out, "Sorano, yip yip!"

They were off and headed towards the most southern-eastern point of the Earth Kingdom, a small fishing village Hui-ying called home.

* * *

When they had first landed Hui-ying had not recognized her mother. She had become so old and tired in only two years' time. Her hands were no longer soft and warm but rough and calloused, and her eyes seemed dry from two years of crying. Lines and wrinkles existed where they hadn't before. No, when Hui-ying saw this sad old woman before her she did not recognize her as her mother.

Master ling was still alive he had been the one who had helped Hui-ying's mother send her letters. It was no wonder the woman had become so sad considering not only had she lost a son but she'd also lost a husband. It was almost funny how little a chance the non-benders stood against the benders. It almost made Hui-ying ashamed, she felt guilty of her father's death by simply being a bender.

They were now sitting inside Chang Ming was till outside tending to Sorano. Ling sat across from Hui-ying and Hui-ying's mother was pouring tea for them. "Oh Hui-ying it's been so long" her mother said softly, "you cut your hair?" she asked as she placed a steaming cup down in front of her daughter and let her fingers glide through her hair.

"I am an airbending master now" Hui-ying replied smiling, "you should've seen it a few months ago I was completely bald". She pushed her hair back for emphasis.

Hey mother chuckled as she set down a cup of tea in front of Ling and finally sat down. Hui-ying felt relieved the moment she heard the familiar sound. The sound that said 'Hui-ying why must you always do the strangest things'. They sat in happy silence for a couple seconds, content to simply be in each other's company after so long.

Hui-ying finally opened her mouth, "I'm leaving to look for Li-liang".

"Hui-ying", Ling stated, "are you honestly going to leave your mother –"

"go." Hui-ying's mother interrupted, "I might be getting older but I'm not so old that I can't live by myself for a year or two. Just promise that if after five years you find nothing, you will come home."

Ling knitted his furry eyebrows together and grumbled. "I promise" Hui-ying stated holding her hand to her heart.

"Now," her mother said, "are you and your friend going to stay for the night or are you going to leave right this instant".

"of course we'll stay for the night!" Hui-ying said giggling because she was honestly about to get up and run away on an adventure.

The next morning Hui-ying sat atop Sorano with Chang Ming. They took off and as she waved goodbye to her mother she realized something important. Her mother had changed but not in the way Hui-ying had originally thought. The lines in her face were not from worry and sadness but from determination and hope. The callouses did not represent weakness but rather represented her change from a housewife with two kids who only had to make dinner while her husband worked but to someone who was strong enough to work and take care of herself. Her mother was someone Hui-ying could rely on to wait for her and to be there when she returned.

"Whatcha thinking about?" Chang Ming asked her.

"I'm thinking about how we need a map" She responded laughing.

Chang Ming smiled, "Next Stop!" he exclaimed, "The Capital to buy a world map!"

They were flying a few hours when Chang Ming finally asked, "by the way, uh, which way to the capital"

* * *

A/N

I came up with such an original name for Chang Ming's sky bison xD. Poor Hui-ying, she's not going to get a sky bison for a long time~


End file.
